


The Rendezvous

by Burntuakrisp, orphan_account



Series: Rescue Prime AU [8]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime, Transformers: Rescue Bots
Genre: (Prime Again), Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, And The Cons Hurt Her, Angst with a Happy Ending, As BAMF She Can Be RB Is Still Here, BAMF Arcee, Bee Just Doesn't Know How Bad Yet, Bee Rambles, Best Friends, Blades Almost Gets Shot Down, Boulder Is Still Optimistic, Boulder Likes To Clean, Brotherly Angst, Bulkhead And Breakdown Are Brothers, Bulkhead and Boulder are brothers, But Who Can Blame Him???, Canon-Typical Violence, Crushes, Dani Is A Shipper, Dani Is NOT Happy, Don't Test Her She'll Cut You, Everyone Is Alive, Flashbacks, Heatwave Feels Mildly Threatened, Hugs, I'm Just Rambling In Tags, I'm Making It Better, If Bee Had A Holoform He'd Be Doing The Curling Hair With Finger Thing, M/M, Mentions Of Energon, Miko Is A Shipper, Mutual Crushes, Mutual Pining, Nightmares, Not Canon Compliant, Optimus Is Hurt, Optimus Is Not Dying Today, Optimus Is Tired, Ratchet Is Tired Of Everyone's SHIT, Rendezvous Points, SO THEY MUST D I E, Shooty Guns Pew Pew, Short & Simple, Short & Sweet, Smokescreen Is Smokescreen, The Jackhammer Is Broke, The Rescue Bots Never Asked For This, They Both Got It BAD, Wheeljack Is Not Impressed, Wheeljack Loves His Jackhammer, You Know???, happiness!!!, jack has anxiety, shippers club, they're all brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2019-10-30 00:01:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17818028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burntuakrisp/pseuds/Burntuakrisp, https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Team Prime has split up.But like two ends of a magnet, they will always come together.





	1. The Three Musketeers

**Starting Back Up Check…**

**Spark:** ONLINE

**Processor:** ONLINE

**Fuel Levels:** LOW

**Charge Levels:** HIGH

**Protocols:** ONLINE

**Rebooting….**

**Rebooting….**

**Rebootin-**

 

   The Prime’s optics flickered online. His processor lumbered behind; sensing pain and automatically turning receptors down. Warnings popped up in his vision. Purposefully set in the center so he wouldn’t ignore them. Small beeps that indicated low energon levels filled his mind. Tired of the sound, the Prime shoved them away. His lowered pain receptors still ached. It was bothersome, but he could not lower them any further.

   He briefly checked over the damage report he received. He had a few good gashes to his chassis- but nothing life threatening if they were treated. Though, seeing as though he sent his only medic to an island in Maine, he wasn’t getting treated anytime soon.

   Optimus tried moving his limbs. Ignoring the flare on his receptors, he attempted to turn his arm. Only, the creak that came from the motion was deafening. It echoed all around him, but that couldn’t drown out the noise of another frame jumping. Oh, so he wasn’t alone.

   The other bot stumbled over their feet: clumsily, Optimus noted. He couldn’t muster the effort to transform his servos. After all, who knows how long the bot had been there. Or, Optimus might’ve been captured. At this point, he didn’t care. His bots were safely away, and he didn’t even know their locations. He would be useless for knowledge.

   But then his optics picked up a mainly white paint job. No Decepticons he knew of even touched white… 

   The bot sprinted over. Pedes tripping over rocks (Oh, they were still on the ground?) as they made their way over. Then the bot exclaimed, “You’re awake!”

   Optimus recognized that voice… 

   Why was Smokescreen here with him?!

   “What’re you…” The Prime murmured, voice falling short. The speedster crouched down, and gently pushed him back down.

   “You’re damaged, just stay there,” Smokescreen urged. The concern was foreign to the mech’s voice.

   “Why are you  _ here _ ?” Optimus hissed through his dentae. Trying to move up again, only to be stopped by the mech’s servo.

   The speedster avoided the Prime’s optics. A nervous smile on his face. “I came back,” Optimus gave him a look, “I don’t know why! I just did! But when I came back the base was all destroyed. Fire everywhere. I’m pretty sure some human helicopters were there too…” The speedster hummed for a bit, recollecting his memories. “Oh yeah! You were in the wreckage so I dragged you here. I think you’ve been out for two solar cycles..?”

   The Prime let out an exasperated sigh. Two cycles was a long time. Especially since Smokescreen could’ve used that time to go to the rendezvous. 

   But the mech wasn’t done, “Since I found you there, I was thinking of going out and looking for more? If you survived, who knows what else did!” Smokescreen’s optics glinted in the low light. They showed his hope with an almost childish glimmer. 

   Optimus let his helm lie back on the wall. Considering, if it had been two cycles the Decepticons were most likely gone. Venting, “If you see anyone, you retreat. Understood?”

   Smokescreen grinned with victory.

 

* * *

 

   Retreat, yeah he wasn’t doing that. He stepped over another piece of crumpled metal. Everything here was the Autobot’s. If anyone here was trying to take it, he would make them regret it!

   The destroyed remnants of the base around him sent a little shiver through his struts. Not even three solar cycles ago, he and Miko were arguing over what Earth movie had the better cast...

   Lifting a giant piece of debris, he could see the destroyed communications array. Huffing, he let it drop again. The crash filled the silence. But then there was a different crash. He whipped around towards the noise. His new battle protocols roaring to life. He made a dive under the crumbled sheet of metal. Just in time to witness another mech drag something out into view. 

   Smokescreen hissed under his breath. The item seemed to be pretty large. Too large for the mech to carry normally. One side was more outward, like a-

_    The Forge! _

   He quickly transformed his servos into blasters. The crumpled material around him would be able to hide him for however long he wanted. In fact, he could just ignore the bot and retreat, like Optimus said.

   But, he was  _ Smokescreen _ . So, he darted out and forward, prepared to send whoever this bot was back to their master. Whatever cover he had was blown by the loud crunch of a metal bar underneath his pede. The mech, startled, turned sharply to look at him. Hesitating for just a second, the speedster raised his blasters.

   Only to be met with a scoff, “C’mon kid, this thing won’t lift itself!” The gruff voice of Wheeljack complained. Tugging on the hammer for emphasis. The Forge was digging into the ground and with all of the debris it must be hard to get out. It kept getting caught on small pieces of metal. It must be  _ really  _ frustrating...

   Especially with the look on the wrecker’s face. Smokescreen jumped forward with his newly transformed servos. Bending down to take the other end of the hammer. He had to try three times before successfully lifting it. By the time he had it on his shoulder (ow.) almost five kliks had passed. Smokescreen jolted when Wheeljack suddenly started to march forward. Stumbling a little, he followed in silence.

   He carefully stepped over more metal as he walked. Depressingly, he could even recognize small bits and pieces of the wreckage. He already missed the berths. He let himself dive into the memories of the base. Of messing around with the kids. Of messing with Bee and Ratchet. Messing around in general. 

   He was ripped away from these memories when the wrecker in front of him stopped with no warning. The speedster stumbled to make sure the hammer stayed on his shoulder. “You can just drop it here,” The wrecker called out. Smokescreen huffed and shuffled the hammer’s head off of his shoulder. Grunting as it fell into his servos. He and the wrecker bent down to lay it on the ground. After making sure it was stable, the speedster straightened himself and looked around. 

   He didn’t even notice how far they had walked. They were behind another one of those big rock structures near the base. He could see a little searing from where the bomb must’ve brushed.  And right next to that was- OH! How did he not notice that ship?!

   It was damaged. There were gashes all over it, and the lifting gear was crumpled. It wouldn’t take off, but if it were fixed they could easily get to the rendezvous point! But how would they fix it?

   Optimus would know. Speaking of which…

   “Hey! We need to go back,” Smokescreen exclaimed out of the blue. His outburst made the wrecker raise an optic ridge.

   “For what?”

   “Well, Optimus is-”

   “Prime?!”

 

* * *

 

 

   In hindsight, maybe they should’ve brought the Jackhammer a little closer. It’s not like Optimus couldn’t walk, but carrying him would just be easier on the big lug. But how was he supposed to know the Prime would weigh a ton?!

   The two were carrying the Prime with his arms around his shoulders. Lugging him over debris was a look more difficult than they had bargained for. Unfortunately, if the Prime tried to stand on his own two pedes, he would be too high to carry. So to stop the pain, they had to quite literally drag him. 

   And Wheeljack was tired of it about a klik in. 

   Though by the time they were in the range of sight of the Jackhammer, they had to take a break. It took everything in his power not to just grab Optimus by his pedes and drag him across the ground to get there.

   And considering how impulsive he is, Wheeljack did a very good job at controlling himself. 

   When they had arrived, Wheeljack unceremoniously let the Prime drop. (The kid gave him a look)

   He jogged to his ship, running his servos over the scratches and dents those ‘Cons put in. Oh he’d make them pay… this would take  _ some miracle _ to fix her. 

 

   And in some ways, a miracle is what he got.

 

* * *

 

   The Rescue Team seemed to be all holding their breath. Five days had passed since the Autobot medic Ratchet had arrived and announced that the rest of Team Prime were coming. But since then, nothing had popped up. The energon sensor had been empty. Doc Greene’s invention that sends a signal when a plane flies overhead; it had nothing. And that sent everyone on edge. Especially the Burns family, who had less to find the bots with.

   Ratchet didn’t make things any better. The family offered him a spare room in the bunker with the med-berth (which was cleaned thoroughly). The medic didn’t have the best attitude, and seemed to somehow always get on Heatwave’s nerves. Though unlike some others, he shot back insults just as good.

   So combined with the tense relations, and nothing on the sensors; they were on the tip of their toes. 

   One day, the Burns and the bots were over at Doc Greene’s lab checking over the air sensor. When they were looking away, about to leave, the sensor suddenly chirped. Everyone jumped and whipped around to look at the machine. As soon as they saw the red dot, they were already rolling out.

   It didn’t even take them five minutes. Even Chase, who normally watches his speed, raced with the rest of them. Honestly, it was impressive none of them crashed.

 

   Skidding to a halt, Ratchet transformed just beyond the meadow. According to the coordinates the ship was hovering around here. The others stopped just behind him. The humans were talking over their com or something- he didn’t really care. Right now, he was searching the skies. He knew some ships has cloaking technology- but that didn’t stop the warping of light. If he could just find it- 

_    There  _ it was.

   Ratchet tried to see how big the warp was, when the warp was suddenly bigger. He could feel the air from the ship (it must have good venting) getting closer. Hissing over his shoulder, “Get back!”

   The others scrambled, backing up behind the hill. The meadow was encased by hills and trees. Thick enough where they wouldn’t be seen by civilians. They only had so much room so if this ship was too big…

   The rush of air almost threw them back. Ratchet had to dig his pedes into the ground to stop himself from tumbling. Dust flew everywhere, and he could see the impact from landing gear. The others murmured with concern behind him. 

   The warp flickered for a moment, dark steel popping up in front of the trees. Then with a hiss, the cloak shut off. Ratchet invented hard. It looked like the Jackhammer… but it was larger. And (don’t tell Wheeljack) better. 

   When the door hissed, all of them jumped. Ratchet transformed his blades, ready for anything to come out of that ship.

_    Well what he thought anything _ .

   The door slowly opened to show an injured Prime. His face was determined as he took a shaky step forward. He bent down hard, and quickly took another step. Ratchet’s medic protocols acknowledged a limp. Along with many slashes to the chassis and limbs. After a whole medical scan, Ratchet recognized the very large and obvious tool the Prime was holding.  Putting two and two together… they must’ve used The Forge to change the ship. But why would they do that when Optimus was in such poor condition?!

   He lunged forward, grabbing the Prime’s arm and throwing it over his shoulder. Optimus didn’t even  resist- they’ve done this so many times it was probably integrated into their programming. The two lurched together, the Prime’s knees giving out. 

   “Hello again old friend-” Optimus began slowly.

   “OH NO DON’T YOU ‘old friend’ ME,” Ratchet snapped, “I CANNOT  _ BELIEVE  _ YOU!” 

   He quickly glanced over his shoulder. Smokescreen and Wheeljack stepped out next and stared at the bots in the meadow. Smokescreen looked fine, but Wheeljack looked scuffed up. A bit of concern lit up his spark. Hopefully it wasn’t anything serious- he and Optimus lurched again.

   Venting in sharply, “OUT OF ALL THE SCRAP-BRAIND IDEAS YOU’VE HAD,” the two shakily made it over to the other bots, “DECIDING TO FIGHT A WHOLE WARSHIP HAS TO JUST TAKE IT  _ ALL _ ,” making sure Optimus gently met the ground, Ratchet turned to glare at the Prime, “OPTIMUS KINDLY TELL ME  _ WHAT THE FRA- _ ” 

   A servo slapped over his mouth. Ratchet’s whole frame stiffened with rage. He was going to  _ kill  _ somebot.  His helm snapped over to be met with the faceplates of a cheeky wrecker. “Careful  _ Sunshine _ , there’s humans here,” Wheeljack drawled out. Spluttering, Ratchet grabbed the wreckers arm and tugged it away. Glaring daggers into the grinning Wheeljack’s face. 

   He turned sharply to other bots, who were looking a little frightened, “This is Optimus Prime the reckless idiot, Smokescreen the not-yet-scrapped-kid, and Wheeljack the soon-to-be-wrecked wrecker!” Ratchet snarled, glaring at the smug Wheeljack. 

   Boulder took a step forward, smiling nervously, “Let’s not do anything we regret now…” 

   “Oh I won’t regret it, I’ll _ enjoy it _ !” 

   “You’ll miss me not even a nanoklik after,” Wheeljack hummed sweetly. 

   “Okay as fun as this is, we might need to get them back before they kill each other,” Kade whispered to his partner, who nodded in agreement. 

   “Okay… welcome to Griffin Rock!”


	2. The B Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY!!!!  
> Mentions of injury and energon ahead! If you are squeamish, just skip to the first line... thing.  
> Or just past all of the italicized words.

   _He can remember it with almost striking clarity._

   _The ruins of all the ships that had been shot down, all of them in one place. Each and every one of them the same as the next. Only differing by color and designations.  Tau Beta 4’s red striped ship had a cavern through the middle. The metal curled outward, the edges still aflame from where the blast had struck. Bulkhead could remember how the bodies had been found on nearly the other side of the wreckage site, most likely thrown from their ship when attacked. It was unclear whether or not they had died instantly, except one bot. The poor femme had twisted limbs and a crushed spark chamber. There was a trail of energon leading away from the others, suggesting that she had lived and tried to crawl to safety._

   _She didn’t make it, only getting a few pedesteps away._

   _He could remember the one bot who was in charge of striking off the name list of who had died.  The bot was strangely stoic, though behavior modifiers were not uncommon at the beginning. Striking off name by name, even the ones who had no bodies to show for it._

   _Unfortunately, some pods were outside Cybertron’s gravitational pull when they were attacked, so any missing bots were presumed dead. No one was willing to go out into the stars to look for them. They were simply left to their tombs. The very ships they swore to help others in._

   _He could remember taking the list from the bot with shaking servos. Scrolling through countless names before seeing one that would haunt him for the rest of his life._

   _Boulder was one of them. His very own brother, who had a spark purer than gold, lost to the stars._

   _Bulkhead had sworn to protect him. From anything that would’ve dared harm him. But he had failed. He always did. He had failed to keep both of his brothers safe. One from his own self, the other from the first’s faction._

   _That was when the memory stopped, and when his own processor took over. Changing the brightened roads to black. Corners of his vision morphing into horrible shapes. Tearing away the memory into little pieces and changing it into something even worse._

   _Heavy pedes filled the dark vision, echoing eerily from unseen walls. Bulkhead could tell who it was without even looking over. He knew how his own walked. Or at least he used to, before the mech had… left._

   _“You killed him,” the former-wrecker murmured, his voice barely traveling. The steps paused, as if considering his words. It was then that it was almost painfully clear that this was just a figment of his own imagination. The real mech wouldn’t even pause, if he was still alive._

   _That jolted his processor. Breakdown was dead, none of this would be possible. But yet, these visions continued to haunt him. Primus he was tired of this._

   _Both of his brothers were dead, he was alone._

 

* * *

 

  Miko snapped awake, almost jumping out of the seat. The seat belt, always on in case the two needed to bolt away, stopped her from going far. Her vision was still hazy from just waking up. It was an unpleasant sensation, being woken so suddenly.

  She yawned and rubbed her eyes, wiping away a small tear. Ugh, she was hungry. She straightened herself in the seat, blearily looking around. Everything seemed okay, so why had she been awakened?

  Then Bulkhead’s frame rumbled a bit. Not enough to really shake the cab, but enough for it to be noticeable. Miko squinted at the dark screen, which normally lit up when the bot was awake. The bot shook again. Blinking, the girl realized that maybe the Autobots had dreams like them?

  Huffing, she slapped the wrecker’s dashboard. “Hey, wake up big guy!” she sing-songed. Kicking her feet while the systems started up. Funny enough, the screen displayed a little loading avatar, twirling around while the bot caught up to reality. Bulkhead came to with a lurch and a groan.

  “Were you dreaming?” Miko hummed innocently.

  The bot, still in the process of waking up, grumbled, “Wha… what?”

  Miko rolled her eyes and tapped the wrecker’s dashboard again, “You weren’t awake, but you were still moving. Do you dream like us?”

  Bulkhead was silent for a moment, but then, “Well, less of dreaming and more of processing memories…”

  Miko beamed and grinned, “Awesome! What were you dreaming about?”  
  The cab stilled, the normal rumble of the engine running stalled for a moment. The atmosphere changed sharply. It was almost like when the bots had to deal with a super dangerous could-possibly-end-the-world type of emergency. But this was no emergency, just a little question.

  “Nothing,” the response was blunt, definitely not putting her in a place to question why. In fact, when she had opened her mouth to say something, the engine started up. Bulkhead rolled forward silently, turning back onto the highway. The hologram that they had initiated flickered to life, just a shadow figure.

Both of them were silent

 

* * *

 

  They had snuck onto a ship that was supposedly heading to Griffin Rock. It was a miracle they hadn’t been found, and they had to hustle to get past the final supplies check. If the employees saw them, they didn’t show it.

  It was actually really difficult to find the rendezvous point. The specific coordinates had them stop somewhere in the forest. With birds chirping overhead Miko climbed out of his door, claiming she needed to stretch her legs.

  So why not, Bulkhead figured, he could transform too. He had to duck his head under some of the branches, but otherwise it felt good to use his legs instead of his wheels. Almost five solar cycles- no six, had passed since the base went down. If the others had got there, they should be here or somewhere close.

  He briefly checked over his energon tracker- the only thing that could tell him of another bot’s signature- and expected multiple bots nearby. However, he was met with a scary sight. Yes, there were bots nearby but they were at a distance. Their formation seemed to be one that was trying to block him in, and one bot was heading towards him. And without thinking, he ushered Miko into the shadows of the trees, ignoring her rushed questions. Distantly, his audials picked up the whir of rotor blades.

  A flying bot, and a wall of bots. Yup, this must be some Decepticon trick. If he could shoot down this one bot though…

  He transformed his servo just as the bot crossed over the tree line. It was a helicopter, but unlike any other drone Bulkhead’s ever seen. The bot had paint that looked to be white and… some warm color that the wrecker couldn’t make out. Either way, the bot was still a possible threat. And without anyone to back him up if things got ugly, his protocols called for termination. No matter how terrible it may be, if it meant the survival of him and Miko, terrible he would take.

  He aligned the shot carefully, powering it up. Waiting for just the moment where the bot paused for a bit-

  There!

  He let the shot go, only for the bot to swerve sharply. It must’ve saw it coming. Bulkhead hissed under his breath, letting out a barrage of shots instead.

  His vision was suddenly overtaken by a large popup. The energon tracker… the wall of bots were coming in fast.

  “Scrap!” he snarled as he ducked back under the branches. Holding out a single servo for Miko to climb into, he transformed and prepared to head off into the darkness. His engine revving hard. Maybe if he was fast enough-

  “ _BULKHEAD, STAND DOWN!”_ a loud commanding voice spat out of the shadows. The wrecker skid to a shocked halt. There was no mistaking that voice…

  Multiple vehicles shot out of the trees, in front there was the signature blue and red color scheme. The other bots around him transformed quickly, kicking up dirt with their pedes and looking almost scared. Optics wide, platting pulled in tight, but a look of anger on their faceplates. And then there was Ratchet-

  Ratchet?!

  Oh scrap he messed up…

  The Prime transformed quickly, taking two rushed steps forward, “He’s an ally!” It was at that moment that Bulkhead realized the Prime was injured. There was hastily welded cybernalm scraps all over the Prime’s body. Crumbled and dirty. It would need to be buffed down later and repainted, but the scraps suggested he was injured recently.

  Miko pushed his door open and jumped out before Bulkhead could stop her. Running forward to the new bots (Who looked shocked at her sudden appearance) and beaming. “Whoah! You guys look awesome! How you doing OP?”

  Bulkhead spluttered and transformed, taking a single step forward. “Miko!” he agonized out loud.

  Overhead, the helicopter spun and landed roughly. There was a skid mark on it’s side, suggesting that one of his random shots _had_ hit its target. Though, Bulkhead didn’t know whether or not this was a good thing.

  Another human hopped out of the vehicle. It was a female, like Miko. Dressed in some sort of flight suit, looking frazzled. She stumbled for a bit on the ground before she caught her footing and glared up at the wrecker. The helicopter transformed and clutched its side where the black mark was still visible.

  Bulkhead’s optics flew to the very obvious Rescue Bot Insignia on the bot’s chest and felt a strange feeling of guilt. Of course, there was always guilt over almost shooting down an ally, but this bot looked strangely familiar. And the other two new bots too…

  Ratchet hissed, “You decided to shoot before even seeing an insignia?!”

  Bulkhead gawked for a minute, “I didn’t know there were any ally fliers!”

  Off to the side, the Prime sighed. Sparing a glance to the Rescue Bots and their partners. He turned on his pede gesturing a servo to the green mech, “Everyone, this is Bulkhead. Please do not hold his aggression personally.”

Blades huffed under his breath.

 

* * *

 

  When the team and the others rushed out, Boulder didn’t worry. Especially when they said something about a bot. Figuring that since it’s just another bot, he could tidy up around the bunker. Don’t tell the others, but he actually kind of enjoyed cleaning the place up. Especially when he got to water the plants or organise some of the human’s items.

  He usually played music whenever he did this. Mixing in some from Cybertron and some from Earth put a new spin on things. His favorite thing to do was to compare how the two differed. It didn’t matter if no one else was as interested as him, as long as he enjoyed it he was happy.

  It took up a lot more time than he realized, because by time he was finished he got a message from the team. Claiming there was another Autobot coming back to the base. A happy little grin split his face. He had everything cleaned up all nice for the new bot!

  He just couldn’t wait to meet them!

 

* * *

 

  The awkwardness of the air just wouldn’t go away. Bulkhead figured almost shooting someone down would do that. Even though he had apologised…

  They were bringing him down into some type of basement. The elevator was large but it barely fit every bot on there. He had to squeeze in next to the mech named Heatwave, who still was a little mad at him.

  The bunker, however, didn’t disappoint. Bulkhead took a step forward and took it all in. Tall walls, there seemed to be multiple rooms, and there was a green bot in the corner. He couldn’t make out the mech’s face when turned around. Though it seemed like the mech heard them come down. The bot started to turn around, body language suggesting that they were happy about something. Bulkhead only hoped that mech wouldn’t be as mad as the others. Maybe they’ll be-

  A familiar green face stared at him with golden optics.

  Oh Primus _above…_

  That was…

 

  “Boulder…?” His voice came out weaker than he expected it to. Wavering for only a nanoklik. The mech in front of him was different than he had remembered, he probably took an Earth form. His frame hadn’t changed much, but now he had extra pieces. For example, his arms seemed to be covered in some sort of tread, and his paint was green and opaque.

  His brother started at his voice, coming to with just a jolt that Bulkhead rushed forward. Boulder met him a few steps ahead. Their embrace was tearful, sobs mixing into laughter.

  Bulkhead almost couldn’t believe it. He had convinced himself that his brother was dead, long gone, only to have the impossible happen. He probably sounded hysterical. But if this was just a hallucination, it felt very real. And he sounded pretty much like his brother...

  Primus, Bulkhead couldn’t even remember the last time the two had hugged. Maybe just before the attack? Just before Boulder and the rest of the Rescue Bots had left. Oh he could remember all of their names now. He had almost shot down… Blades? He’d have to apologize a lot more later.

  The two separated with smiles. Excited questions flowing out of their mouths. Most of them about others who had made it out of the war, and how the two survived.

  There was a cough from the corner, and the two turned to face the confused faces of the others. “Why are you so… happy to see each other?” Ratchet questioned with a raised optic ridge.

  Bulkhead laughed and took a step backwards, “We’re brothers!”

  There was a collective gasp from the group, some of the Rescue Bot’s optics sparking with realization.

  “I remember now, Boulder introduced us before we left Cybertron, yes?” The blue bot- Chase- offered. The two just smiled and nodded.

  Miko squealed and ran forward with an excited cackle, “Oh of course! You two look so similar! Are you a Jeep too? Oh! No, don’t tell me- you’re a monster truck!”

  Boulder looked surprised at the energetic response, but just smiled, “Bulldozer, actually.”

  “That’s even cooler!” Miko looked from one bot to the next.

  Bulkhead laughed and turned to his brother with an overjoyed grin, “How’d you even make it out?”

 “Okay so, this energon eater attacked the pod and we went into stasis to get rid of it. Heatwave had rigged it so that if a Prime message came through we would be awake and go back! Turns out, we were in stasis a lot longer than we had thought…” Boulder trailed off, a troubled expression on his face.

  “That doesn’t matter, I’m just so glad you’re safe,” Bulkhead hummed.

  “Oh! Speaking of which, what about Breakdown? Where’s he?” Boulder blurted out with a grin. Bulkhead’s lines ran cold.

  “The Deception Breakdown? Oh he’s dead,” Smokescreen chimed in from the corner.

  Boulder’s smile fell. “Wh… _Decepticon…_ dead?”

  Bulkhead swallowed his grief, giving his brother a sad smile before placing a servo on his shoulder, “Let’s… talk.”

  The two headed off together.


	3. A Lawful Good and a Pure Neutral

  It was at times like this, Jack wished he had a better job. At sixteen, nine dollars per hour seemed like a good start. But now, when he had less than twenty in his pocket while he was on the run to some island off the coast of Maine, he might be having second thoughts. 

  Especially now. Arcee and him were having trouble to figure out exactly what transmission ship would be able to take them to the island, when the sudden thought of food hit him. So, leaving Arcee to sit there for a small amount of time seemed to be fine. Plus, when Jack had mentioned him being hungry, Arcee enthusiastically agreed. 

  He had eyed a couple things on the menu, only to stop at the prices. He wavered in his place in line, the least expensive item would take pretty much all of the cash he had left. Plus, something made him feel funny at the thought of just stepping out of line. Maybe it was because he had this terrible feeling of being hunted ever since the base went down? 

  By time it was his turn, he tripped over three sentences, got the twenty dollars stuck in his pocket, and almost knocked over like five people. Whoops?

  So now he had his food, only a few cents to spare, and strolled right out of there. The restaurant was parked on just the edge of a highway, but also lead to some housing over on the right. All they had to do was ride the highway down a little to the main shipping docks, and then they’d be able to get to wherever this rendezvous point was. It seemed like a simple enough plan, but getting onto the boat was going to be a different story. He’d have to get his alibi in order for that one…

  He had Arcee parked by the farthest spot. Just next to the road, it would be easy to simply back up and be off. Quicker getaway, if it came to that. Anyway, Arcee was parked in the corner, as he had left her. But then there seemed to be a strange… person kind of circling the motorcycle. Jack couldn’t see much in the cover of night, but he could see a large sphere that the person was holding. It was tucked underneath their right arm. 

  Jack hesitated for a minute, clutching his food. The sphere didn’t look to be a weapon, but there was always the possibility. And the person could always be just someone looking at the motorcycle. That was how Jack and Arcee met, after all. But if Jack just concentrated for a bit, he could hear them talking. Talking to Arcee, or talking to what they think is just a normal motorcycle, Jack didn’t know. But if they were thinking of stealing her…

  Acting on a spark of courage, Jack called out, “Hey! What’re you doing with my motorcycle?” The person- no, a man- jumped and whipped around to face the teenager. He was dressed in some green button-up that wasn't all that neat. Simple brown combat pants and black shoes. His hair was gray and parted in the middle, each side pushed out of the man’s face. Which had some type of beard that spread to the cheekbones and over the lip. It was shaved down, but you could clearly see that it was there. Then the man had some type of… messenger bag?

  The man just grinned, “Your motorcycle, or what you  _ think  _ is your motorcycle?” Jack stared at the man in confusion. 

  “Uh… what?” He didn’t expect this today. Out of all things he was ready for cons, rabid animals, not having enough money, but not a mysterious man who spoke in riddles. 

  The man just laughed and took a few steps around Arcee, “You might not know this bike as much as you think!” he continued his circling, leaving Jack to just sit there with his bag of food. Something was wrong about this man, but in some way it felt like he… knew something. “You must not be so big! At least not as big as that Optimus fellow.” 

  Jack choked on his tongue, the food bag dropping from his hands and splattering on the ground. He briefly mourned over the loss but decided to forget about it for now.

  “Get on. We’re leaving,” Arcee hissed in her alt mode, driving forward just a pinch. The man jumped at the sudden reaction, but quickly calmed with a smile. 

  “How about this? You two headin’ towards a place called Griffin Rock?” Snapping back to reality, Jack took two hurried steps forward.

  “Who are you?!” His voice came out high and squeaky, but could you blame him? This stranger just walked up and told them not only that he knew Optimus, but he also knew the rendezvous point.

  The man held out a hand that Jack didn’t take. “Name’s Woodrow Burns,” after a few seconds of holding the hand out, Woodrow lowered it without a single waver of attitude,”I’ve got a boat heading there in the morning, you up for a ride?” 

  Jack narrowed his eyes. This could easily just be a trick. Maybe the cons recruited someone to bring them in? Or maybe they had some type of holograms? He knew Arcee had something like that before he drove on her…

  “We’ll see.”

  
  


  Jack hated boats. He hated the ocean. He hated everything about this. 

  The ship rocked with the waves, it had been three minutes since he got on it. Three minutes of pure hatred for the sea. He almost flew off the side two times, and was having trouble keeping his nausea in check. Arcee, being a robot, had no problem. Though, she did look a little irked by the unstable ground.

  Woodrow laughed from the wheel. “Look excited! We still have half an hour to go!” 

  Jack groaned.

 

* * *

 

 

 

  Jack has never felt more freedom than the moment he stepped off that boat. He stumbled away from the dock through a small crowd. Dramatically leaning on a tree and gagging. He  _ hated  _ the ocean.

  “You okay?” Arcee hummed from her vehicle mode. Jack was only able to give her a shaky thumbs up, still clinging to the tree. 

  Arcee mentally shrugged and quickly pulled up both the energon scanner and the rendezvous coordinates. Strange enough, the coordinates were far off on the other side of the island. Away from where Arcee guessed was all the humans. Then the energon tracker suggested that most of the others were already there. They were collected over to the West of the docks. But there were a few rolling up just now. 

  She glanced over to their direction just as three vehicles rolled to a stop. She could clearly recognize Optimus and Ratchet in the lead, though there was another red vehicle trailing to the side of them. Arcee revved her engine three times, the in-alt greeting, and her two teammates revved back. The other bot stayed silent. Either not Autobot, or not accustomed to War signals.

  The Prime’s headlights flashed twice: the alt signal for ‘Follow’. Arcee’s engine hummed as she drove over to where the teenager was still standing. He didn’t say a single word as he climbed on. The teen’s face looked strangely pale, but Arcee had learned that sometimes the humans just did that. Jack blearily waved to Woodrow, only to stop as the man climbed into the red vehicle.

  All four of them drove out for a bit, giving Arcee the perfect opportunity to scope out the island. There was a town there, and it looked pretty advanced. She could see someone flying from a rotor blade covered hat. There was countless cars. The people, however, looked pretty average. And the change in scenery was a little… strange. But Jack seemed to enjoy it. So, that was all that mattered. The roads they were driving on seemed to lead to the middle of the island. Where Arcee could see a large red building from a distance.

  When they rolled closer Arcee was able to pick up a lot more details. Like how The garage-like entrance had a bell overhead. Or that to the side, the Rescue Bot insignia was engraved underneath some stone figure of a flying creature. 

  The doors opened, and they all rolled in. She was about to transform- when the floor she parked on suddenly started to descend.

  “An underground bunker,” Jack hummed out in wonder.

  The Prime spoke for the first time, “Indeed.”

  “Nice!”

  The floor thudded to a stop, revealing the deceivingly large second floor. Jack ooed as the others started to transform. She waited for a second for Jack to get off, before she joined them. Immediately, she tried to get a look at the red bot that was letting Woodrow climb out of his chassis. Who looked to be a mech, but looks could be deceiving. Yellow optics, glass chassis, ladder on his back, and a Rescue Bot insignia. Ah, so this must be one of them…

  She almost pulled out her blasters when a whole lot of bots jumped in. Some of them she recognized as her teammates, and the others she could see the insignia on them. One of them, who had a white and orange paint job with some sort of blades on their back, seemed strangely disappointed at her appearance.

  “Rescue Bots,” the Prime started. Those who perked up Arcee filed away as the team of Rescue Bots. They were making this too easy for her. “This is Arcee,” the Prime paused again before gesturing to her. The bot’s optics followed. “One of my fiercest fighters and bravest warriors.” 

  She crossed her arms over her chassis and gave all of them a once-over. She raised an optic ridge, “So  _ this  _ is the fresh meat?” The red mech seemed to light up.

  “Arcee,” Optimus sighed heavily. Her optics snapped to meet his. She was never good at standing down…

  “What, you expect me to stay quiet about it when they’re  _ right there _ ?” She gestured at the bots, who seemed a bit alarmed. “Plus, the red one seemed excited at the idea.” Said mech spluttered at being called out. 

  The Prime was silent for a minute, optics filled with frustration. He gestured calmly to the red mech, “Arcee, how would you get him to the ground?”

  Giving the affronted mech a brief glance, her battle protocols highlighted the ladder. She nodded as the plan came together in her head, “Light blow to the knee joint. Then, when he comes down to block I circle around. Grab the ladder, kick his knees out, and flip him over my shoulder.” 

  Optimus nodded and turned to the disturbed Rescue Bots, “Heatwave, how would you stop this from happening?”

  The red mech-  _ Heatwave-  _ just stood there for a nanoklik. Then he piped in, “Turn around to prevent my ladder getting grabbed?” 

  Rookie mistake… “Then I could simply engage my melee and slice your optics out,” She murmured as the simulation played in her head. Heatwave cringed a little, servos twitching. The other Rescue Bots looked purely horrified. “Maybe you have a point,” she admitted. 

  “Okay maybe we could not talk about attacking each other?” A human with orange hair rounded the corner. He looked a little disgusted at what she described. 

  Arcee simply shrugged, “I was asked a question, I answered.” She could tell now, that these were not battle ready bots. This was going to be a long visit…

  Another human sprinted out from around the corner, holding a screen in their hands. The human paused to wheeze for a good amount of time.

  The green mech took a few steps forward the wheezing human, “Graham, are you okay?” The human just waved the screen, which the green mech took into his own servos. Hurriedly reading over the screen, before jolting. The mech’s yellow optics were almost excited in a way. “There’s been a spike in energon on the North coast!” 

 

* * *

 

  It was decided that since they had a capable team, the Rescue Bots would stay behind. A spike in energon was different than a simple energon blip. A large amount could be cons, considering it just popped up. Unless energon was naturally uncovered. The North coast of the island was more secluded than the rest. Consisting of rocky beaches, thick forests, and heavy waves. It would be a perfect place for energon to be naturally uncovered…

  But, since they could very much see the Cybertronian ship parked outside, it was unlikely. 

  They all skid to a stop just beyond the ship. Transforming, Optimus took a few steps forward, analyzing the ship. 

  “An Autobot starship?” He murmured lowly. The others transformed behind him. Each stepping up to get a glimpse of it. Then with a start, Wheeljack groaned.

  Bulkhead gave him a confused look, “What’s wrong Jackie?”

  “I know who owns that ship,” Wheeljack hissed through his dentae. 

  The tunnel besides them sprung alive with blaster fire. The bots around the ship ducked out of the way, running for cover. Just in time to witness a bot, around the same height as  _ Optimus _ , run out with vehicons hot on his heels. Clutching a few crystals of energon in his right servo as he fired back with his left.

_ :Help that Autobot!: _

  Optimus commanded over the coms.

  Then the others rushed into battle. They were able to take the cons by surprise, not expecting the team to be assembled so quickly. Multiple of the vehicons rushed forward without second thought, only to be caught by blaster fire and quick melee weapons. 

  The battle didn’t last long at all. The cons were severely under prepared, only having a hundred or so soldiers. And with each of the six Autobots on the field able to take on ten- not counting Optimus or the new bot who could take out even more- vehicons apiece, it wasn’t surprising. 

  In fact, when the final drone had fallen, most of the assembled team were already around the new bot. Said mech, had a stoic face, tall shoulder guards, and a height maybe only a bit shorter than Optimus. 

  Though Optimus didn’t even need to introduce him. The bots knew a second-in-command when they see one.

  
  


  By time they all got back, each one of them carrying three cubes of processed energon or more, the tension between the new bot and Wheeljack was thick. The others didn’t mention it, or even acknowledge it. 

  Though when the Rescue Bots saw the new bot, you could visibly see Chase perk up. Optics lighting with recognition and respect. 

  The Burns chose this time to walk in, each and every one of them stopping dead when they saw him. Eyes widening as they stood there, feeling like ants compared to this giant.

  With a small smile, Optimus introduced his second-in-command to the awed Burns family, “This is Ultra Magnus, the commander of the Wreckers. And, one of the best soldiers there is in the whole of the Autobot faction.”

  He didn’t say anything else. There was no need to.

 

  Hope filled sparks and hearts alike.


	4. A Little Bumble In The Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Watch me shove this fluffy chapter down your throats :))))

After Ultra Magnus arrived at the base, the rest of the bots were ecstatic. All of them praising the mech, and demanding stories about how he had survived. Especially Chase, who pretty much worshiped every bit of land the commander walked on. And if Blades didn’t know any better, he’d think the whole of Team Prime was already back together. But he did know, and he couldn’t forget. Or stop worrying about that yellow mech.

  Despite almost ten solar cycles passing Bumblebee was nowhere to be found. There wasn’t a single suggestion to where the scout could be. But from little hints from the Autobot medic- Ratchet- he had learned that Bumblebee had been dropped off somewhere in the middle of the continent? But even then, the normal drive time without stops would be around two to three days. Not counting any stops that the scout might’ve had to take. It was starting to worry him, if he was honest.

  And with  _ great  _ joy, his processor decided to fill in the holes for him. Bumblebee getting captured, shot down, bleeding out, offlin-

  No- no, he was  _ not  _ going to go there. 

  But he couldn’t stop thinking about that day in the caves. Where he got the first taste of what a Deception attack would be like. He didn’t even know how many there were down with them in the caves, but all he did know was the damage they caused. Just one of them almost killed the Chief’s brother, Woodrow. And who knows how many hurt Optimus. Oh, he would never forget how the Prime looked, limping back to the Rescue Bots. His weapons were still engaged, and he was covered in dents, scratches and  _ energon _ . More than he’d seen as his time as a Rescue Bot  _ field medic _ . 

  He didn’t know how many it took to harm the Prime that way, but he had a good guess of what would happen if the same amount got their servos on Bumblebee. It was difficult not to think about it. No matter how many episodes of Cupcake Hoarders he watched.

  Then it came to him with a start, he didn’t even know how many cons Bumblebee could take on! He could be the best fighter on the team for all he knew! So that is why, he decided, he would cleverly ask around to see just how good Bumblebee was.

  And where else to start than the new femme? She seemed to know how to fight, so she would know if Bumblebee was good at fighting! So he had walked up, asked a super clever question that would never tip her off, and got his answer. Pretty much all bots were specialized in combat on Team Prime. And he’s guessing the scout was included in that as well… but he wasn’t sure. 

  That was how he found himself here, waiting for a response from Optimus. He spent pretty much an hour previously asking everyone on Team Prime about battle stuff. Blades didn’t know why he did it, he just got carried away. Farther than carried away, he was asking  _ Optimus  _ now of all bots… 

  The Prime paused for a second, taking in his question. All the while Blades stood there, immediately regretting saying anything. He should’ve stopped at Arcee, he didn’t need to ask literally everyone. 

  “All of my soldiers can easily defend themselves,” Optimus stated bluntly. Exactly like every other response from the others. Blades learned nothing new from this. Holding back a huff, he was just about to thank Optimus and walk away- “So I ask of you, please do not underestimate my scout.” It was so out of the blue that Blades almost didn’t catch it- almost. 

  The heli spluttered, fighting a sudden warmth in the faceplates. “I never- why would…” he trailed off, stumbling over his own words. “I never said anything about  _ Bumblebee _ !”  

  The Prime just nodded, “Of course, I apologize.” 

  To preserve his own dignity, Blades decided he needed to escape. Right now. So, he quickly uttered a goodbye, turned on his heel and  _ ran  _ out the door. Though, who knows if it was a good or bad thing that he missed Optimus’s knowing smile.

 

* * *

 

  The highway went on forever. Just miles and miles of unending road. Cars whizzed pass them, going to who knows where. Raf tried to count how many vehicles he had never seen before; but they all just blurred together.

  It had been seven days since they had to leave the base, and ever since then things had been crazy. Both him and Bee had to evade cons for a long time. Who knew they’d instantly scan the highways? Bee thought of just hanging around smaller roads for now. Too bad you can only stay so long before neighborhood watch was hunting you down too. They had to rotate streets, but they couldn’t get too far from the food places. 

  Raf might not be above asking for food from strangers, but he was above dumpster diving. And a few times he could find some money along the ground. It didn’t feel the best… but now that they were moving fast along the highway he wouldn’t need to worry about it!

  To get to the highway was difficult with all of the cons. But it turns out, they were easily fooled by paint job changes. They were able to find a few cans of yellow and black paint, but it definitely wasn’t enough to cover the whole of Bee’s alt mode. That was how Raf learned that Bee can use such a small amount of paint to cover a lot larger space. He didn’t know how, but all he did know is that suddenly Bee had a new paint job. 

  So now they were on the highway. He could count almost five new cars he had never seen before. Interestingly, most of them were more designer cars. Things that people in Jasper would not buy, rather getting more air conditioning instead. He was pretty sure most people in Jasper were shocked at the sight of Bee. 

  Speaking of which, over the whole trip Bee hadn’t said much other than checking if he was okay. And in the beginning, when he said that when they got to Griffin Rock and met these Rescue Bots that he’d like them. And oh- he almost forgot. Bee knew of the Rescue Bots? At least knew of them enough to think that Raf would enjoy them too. 

  “Hey Bee,”  he hummed out into the silence. Bee let out a single beep of recognition. “Could you tell me more about the Rescue Bots?” He adjusted himself in the chair, the highway flying past him.

  Bee buzzed low- his version of the ‘hmm’ noise.  _ :”Well, they work really well together. Sometimes better than us! There’s four of them, all mechs- or males… each of them really different. Like, all of them have really unique personalities that you think wouldn’t work but they do.”  _

  Raf nodded along. “They sound really cool,”

_   :”They are! There’s Heatwave, he’s the leader of the bunch. Ironically, he has a fiery personality and his alt is a fire truck! He might be a little blunt, but he really cares about the team. And he’s interested in joining Team Prime, but I’m pretty sure Optimus will say no. And Boulder, who’s pretty much a complete opposite of Heatwave. He’s really kind and soft spoken. Likes nature and is really smart. But he’s a bulldozer,”: _ Both him and Bee had a little chuckle. 

  “I’m sure if Miko knew him, she’d have a field day about his alt form. Might not be so happy about his attitude!” 

_ :”You’re telling me! She’d especially not like Chase. He’s a police car and-- of course-- really likes rules-”: _ Raf laughed, these guys really sounded fun! _ :“-Apparently he’s memorized all human police codes? He showed me some once. I never knew you guys are so strict… Anyway! He… tries to get human culture but he doesn’t really get it. Except the police rules.”: _

  “And the forth one?” Raf briefly tapped a rhythm with his fingers. Swinging his feet absentmindedly. 

_ :”Oh that’s  _ Blades _! Blades is a helicopter and he-”: _ Bee did his version of a giggle, a chirp-  _ :”He’s really nice! He can be a little nervous sometimes but overall he’s a really good bot!”: _

  Bee had a strange tone. It was a little more difficult to hear how he means to say his words than actually translating the words but this… this was different. “Oh, how so?” he hummed innocently.

_ :”Just-”: _ he trailed off into a group of chirps  _ :”-he can be super brave when he needs to be! Even though he’s scared of heights he still flies for the team. He also likes a lot of stuff I do, unlike some other bots on Team Prime, and has a great taste. In movies, TV shows, games. Blades likes to do all sorts of fun stuff, I can’t even list it all for you. And he really cares about the members of his team. He  _ appreciates  _ when I come over to visit. And I guess I have to admit I really enjoy seeing him too. I mean, he’s just really nice to be around. I can’t explain why he seems so  _ different…  _ he’s just-”: _

  “Woah Bee, you’re  _ really  _ warming up,” Raf chimed in.

  Bee came to a spluttering halt. The scout seemed to be at a loss for words. Though Raf didn’t know if that was for better or worse. Throughout Bee’s rant, the cab seemed to be gradually heating up. At first he didn’t notice it, but then Raf just happened to place a hand on Bee’s dashboard. He had no clue why, all Bee was doing was talking. 

_ :”Whoops- sorry! Must’ve... turned the heat up!”: _

  Though it was sometimes difficult to pick up on Bee’s tone, Raf couldn’t miss how badly that seemed like an excuse…

 

* * *

 

  It was later on the tenth day, that the Rescue Bots got a call from Woodrow. 

  Woodrow had gone back to the mainland dock, waiting to pick up and ship over any Autobots that he could find. Optimus profusely thanked him for the help, and let him be sent off. Woodrow had said that if he found anyone, he’d call just before he pulled into the Griffin Rock Cargo Dock. Woodrow would give a description of what the bot looked like, and held them on his boat until the bots were close enough.

  When Woodrow called in again, it wasn’t hard to pick out Blades rushing to the side of it. And as soon as Woodrow mentioned a black and yellow paint job, Blades was already flying off. He forgot to bring Dani with him, but he was sure he’d get lectured for that later.

  Unsurprisingly, flying to that dock was the fastest he’s ever flown.

 

* * *

 

 

  The ride to the island was nice. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to ride on a boat. Bee relaxed on his wheels, Raf excitedly chattering inside his alt.

  “Oh this is so cool! You said this place was an experimental ground for tech?” The young boy burst out, eyeing the beach.

_ :”Yeah! When we get all settled down there, I can show you all of the cool inventions! Maybe we could get your laptop that upgrade you wanted?”: _ At the mention of  _ that _ , Raf was practically bouncing in the seat with gleaming eyes and a wide smile.

  “I’ve always wanted to get that new update! How long do you think it’ll take? To settle down, I mean!” Raf questioned, though he didn’t lose a single flair of that ecstatic energy. 

_ :”Well…”: _ the scout trailed off, absentmindedly eyeing the skies,  _ :”It didn’t take them long to welcome  _ me  _ in! Though, I’m just one bot compared to the whole team!”: _

  Raf was going to say something, only Woodrow, the human taking them to the island, walked in. “You’re free to go! There’s some bots coming for you, so don’t try to immediately take off- or shoot one of them down! Big OP does  _ not  _ want that happening again!” The scout missed that last comment, too busy making sure Raf had everything before they left.

_ :”Thank you!”: _ Bee beeped.

  “He says thanks!” Raf called out the window just before the scout rolled out. 

  The dock was loaded with people and cars, the scout had to take a careful precaution. Though, since he’d lived in an alt mode for forever it wasn’t that hard. In fact, the most difficult thing was trying to find somewhere that he could transform at. He had been in his alt for so long, he needed to stretch his legs. So, making sure he found a little cluster of forest out of view of the docks, he first let out Raf before transforming.

  He ex-vented lightly. Okay, yeah that felt better. Walking in little circles, the plating on his legs shifted a little. Arranging back into their comfortable setting. 

  “The new paint job looks good in your bipedal mode, Bee!” Raf called up from where he was cycling through his PC.

  He let out a low buzz, pulling his arms up over his helm in a stretch.  _ :”You think the others will like it too?”: _

  “Yeah! You look cool!” 

  Bee was just about to thank the boy- only to pause at the sound of a dull thud somewhere nearby. He turned around, arms still high over him helm, only to pause at the sight of a familiar copter-bot just a little ways away. The two’s optics met, and for just a nanoklik the scout could see the pure relief and happiness there.

  “Bumblebee!” Blades cried, taking a good few quick steps forward. He surprised Bee with a hug, practically crashing into the scout’s chassis.

  And for a moment Bee felt almost giddy at the touch. Such an overbearing feeling of joy made him hug back without a second thought. Letting out little chirps all the while. And when the mech hastily pulled away, Bee felt a slight tinge of disappointment.

  “I was so worried! You didn’t let us know anything would be happening and then all of a sudden an image of your base up in flames was on the TV…” the copter-bot immediately started to ramble off his concerns. And if Bee didn’t know the mech, he would’ve been startled by the onslaught.

_ :”Hey, I’m okay! We’re all okay! Sorry for not calling ahead though, we had so little time-”: _

  “Who’s this?” Raf called from behind him, accidentally cutting the scout off. Blades jumped, optics widening at the sight of the boy. 

  Before Blades started to panic,  _ :”Oh this is Blades! Blades, this is Raf. He’s my charge!”: _ he quickly gestured between the two of them. The scout felt a bit of  _ himself  _ relax when Blades did as well. 

  Raf ooh’ed a little, taking a few small steps forward, “So  _ you’re  _ Blades,” then the boy squinted, as if putting together details in his helm. “Bee’s said  _ a lot _ about  _ you _ !” 

  The scout jolted, startled at being called out so suddenly. Fighting a furious heat in his face plates as his optics spiraled out wide. He’d almost forgotten that he’d told Raf all about the Rescue Bots. 

  “All good things, I promise!” As if rubbing rust into the wound. Yeah, his whole frame was warming up now.  _ Why’d Raf have to say that out loud? _ He completely avoided Blades’s gaze. Choosing off into the forest a better place to look. His tanks were rolling uncomfortably, and his servos felt fidgety. Bee’d never felt like this before, and he decided he didn’t like it. 

  Blades spluttered out something that probably was going to be a sentence, “Oh… well-” only, he never got to finish. Optimus, Ratchet, and Heatwave rolled into the docks. The sight of them quickly stealing Bee’s attention. All of the sudden, the feeling was thrown away and all he could focus on was that they were safe. 

  He let out a little honk, and watched as the trio skid to a halt. And then turned to drive towards the scout. He took a step back, ushering Raf along as well, as they transformed in the little clearing.

  The first thing Ratchet and Optimus did was look him over, probably checking for injuries. But Heatwave furrowed his optic ridges a bit, “You got a paint change?”

  He could see Blades startle besides him, as though he didn’t notice before. Bee found himself absentmindedly preening. He told himself in his head it wasn’t just because he knew Blades was now looking.  _ :”Yeah, cons wouldn’t allow us on the highway without a change in design. By the way, did you know how  _ expensive  _ in human currency those are?”: _ he whirred. 

  “Which one is this?” Raf pretty much stepped into the spotlight- all of the bots’ helms snapping to where he stood.

_ :”Heatwave, the leader of the Rescue Bots.”: _ Humorously, the mech in question seemed to puff out in pride. 

 

  It didn’t take long for them to get ready to head to the firehouse. But just before they set off, Bee realized something.  _ Raf never said anything about him talking about Heatwave, like he did with Blades.  _

_   Huh. _

 

* * *

 

 

  When they arrived to the firehouse, almost everyone welcomed him back. The Burns family seemed excited at his appearance. A few of them even complimented his new paint job. Bumblebee already felt in his place- only to be struck dumb at the sight of Ultra Magnus. He was used to being smaller than most bots around him, but this was  _ ridiculous _ . The mech rivaled Optimus in height, and Chase in strictness.  

  But he seemed to be the only addition to everyone he already knew. He was content- for now. Bee knew that the firehouse didn’t have many extra berth-rooms so some might have to share. And then there was the energon, he wondered briefly if the rations would stay the same. But also there was-

  “Hey Bee, did you want to watch this movie with me?” The scout turned to the sight of Blades. Said mech was holding a small case in his hand with the label ‘Jurassic Park 3’ on it. A loud beep escaped before he could stop it. Nodding excitedly, he had to hold back from bouncing on his pedes.  _ He needed to see this one! _

  And the two bounced off into the TV room, unaware of the two that watched from the corner. And the one young boy who was walking to join them.

  “There’s no way there’s nothing there…” Miko hummed, narrowing her eyes at the retreating bots. 

  Dani nodded from beside her, “At least not on Blades’s end.” Miko jolted up, an almost wicked grin splitting her face.

  “Oh? Tell me more-”

  Deciding he wanted to be known, Raf stepped forward, “What are you guys talking about?” 

  “Oh nothing- just bots having  crushes,” Miko hummed nonchalantly, like it wasn’t the greatest discovery of her life time. 

  Then Dani’s eyes sparkled with a sudden idea. Leaning forward, “Have you… noticed anything with Bee and Blades?” Miko’s excited face then whipped around to stare at him.

  “Well… when he was telling me of the Rescue Bots he started to warm up talking about Blades… and Bee seemed  _ really  _ embarrassed when I brought this up in front of him.” He admitted and watched as the two absolutely lit up. 

  Almost screaming, “OH MY GOD IT’S MUTUAL!” Miko cackled. 

  Dani placed a hand on Raf’s shoulder, smiling really wide, “You have to tell us if anything like this happens again, okay?”

 

  Not knowing what he was getting into Raf agreed.


	5. INFORMATION TO ALL THAT ARE INTERESTED

This story can only be continued if there is someone who can help write.

If you wish to contact me, send me a message.

Burntuakrisp is my Tumblr account.


	6. Update + New Story

First of all, I am not canceling this story, but rather putting into on a hiatus until further notice.

As I have stated before that I need someone to help me write this series to let it continue.

But I do have some good news for you all.

I am also working on another fanfic called “Kemono Wars” which is a crossover between Beast Wars and Kemono Friends.

My current interests are focused on that series for the time being.

So if you want to check it out, copy the link below and let me know what you think.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19005145/chapters/45131989

**Author's Note:**

> Don't be shy to kudos, comment, or bookmark the work :)


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